Author Chat with Kold

Now I am joined by another author, Cold. Cold, how are you? I'm fine. How are you doing? I'm doing pretty good. So you have managed to find a way to take your real life experiences and turn them into a plethora of books. So before we kind of take a deep dive down that road, tell us a little bit about who you are, where you're from, and what sparked your interest into becoming an author. I was on author Cold, author of Street Lit, Urban Romance, Urban Paranormal, Erotica. I tried to do all genres. I'm from Clarksville, Tennessee. So my background comes from being in the juvenile system as a kid till I was 18, then in and out. And during that time, the first book I ever read was by Donald Goins called Dope Fiend. And that kind of set my journey on reading black authors. Back then, it was Terry Woods and Waheeda Clark, Nicky Turner, all the OGs to me. So my writing came from in 2015. I was incarcerated in Kentucky, and we didn't have a library that had any books by black authors. So we was kind of sitting around the yard and talking about the books we grew up on. And we mentioned how we didn't really see our experiences in the streets reflected in that. A lot of times it was glorifying just that one side of it. So I had made a comment. I was like, well, I could do better. And the inmates challenged me to go do it. So I went to my cell and started writing my first book called The Bottom. And it kind of took off from there, because the next day, I had a homeboy who came in there and was like pulling him off the typewriter as I was typing the chapters I had. And he was reading, and he was like, man, this is dope. I was like, I'm thinking he's playing with me, because inside there, we do hype each other up, you know? Somebody could play ball or rap. And we'd be like, yeah, you the next Jordan, or you the next Wayne, just playing. But next thing I knew, it was a line at my cell to read what I had written. And it just spread around. Like four different penitentiaries, I became known as the walk-in library, because I always had my net bag full of books. That's amazing. And I love how you was like, you just wanted to quit playing. And they're like, no, you really got it. And it's like, look at you now. So how have you managed to write so many stories? And especially with each story, there's different storylines, it's series, different characters. Like, how do you do it? So I tell everybody, it comes to me as like a daydream. I daydream every story out, right? So when I first wrote the bottom, it was just basing it off my experiences in the city and like things I witnessed, right? So the people around me that I was running with at the time, or just the situation I would take. And I wouldn't wanna just glorify like the stuff that people hype up about the streets. I wanted to show the consequences that come with it. You know what I'm saying? So like the relationships with friends, the envy that comes in, the, you know, the losses we take behind it too. So I'll just, there was many times I'll just be in my cell and like, I'll think of something and be like, okay, this would be dope to put a story around. And I didn't wanna make it like a true story, you know, but I wanted to add entertainment to it, but still have that message in there. Like, this is what comes with it. You know what I'm saying? So a lot, I tell people my first books are usually based on true fiction, like something true happened, but I put fiction around it as well. And they just play like a movie in my head. And then that's how I write it. I don't outline anything. Soon as it come to my head, if I don't know the character's name I wanna use, I'll just put an X. You know what I'm saying? And I'll come back to it once it hits me. That's amazing. And like the whole process is just great. And I loved how, you know, you took your time behind bars and you created something beautiful out of it. And now look at you, you're writing. And one of your like bestsellers is the Streets and Love series. And one of the first one is Loving Dangerous. And so tell viewers a little bit about what in this particular series and what would you say was like the best part of writing about this? So everybody that knows me know I'm not a romance person, right? So I had put a comment in my Facebook group, like, what do y'all wanna see me write next? And of course my fans is do an urban romance. And I did not wanna do it. I was trying to be smart. Like when I started it, I was like, all right, since y'all want a romance for me, I'm gonna put every trope of romance in here that I know about. But when I started writing it, of course I pulled from an experience in my life, right? So the very first opening chapter is Danger and Lyric, when they're in elementary school, right? Fifth grade. And just a situation in the cafeteria that I pulled from my life, cause I remember liking a girl, wanting to tell her that I like her. The next thing she pop up, this boy come out of nowhere and now they're a boyfriend and girlfriend, right? So I used that situation and for Danger, it turned him cold. You know what I'm saying? That affected how he looked at relationships and stuff as he got older. So I liked writing it. I started liking to write it, which made me focus on the story instead of being smart about it. I actually wanna make it a good story. So for me, it's just my view on how I think romance should go when it comes to Danger and Lyric, because when she does come back into his life, we see that she breaks away that coldness that he had about himself and he opened himself up to her. He doesn't come after her in ways we see today where it's really no trying to get to know a person or it's all about like, what can I gain? Whereas with Danger, he knows that he wants Lyric and he shows that, you know? And it's a dope story, but I also introduced to some other couples dealing with their situations. You got Spook and Erica, and then you have Larissa, John Strick. Their situation is John Strick, both like Larissa, is like, well, who's gonna win out and be with Larissa? Or does she even want either one of them, both of them? I just try to show a lens on my view of love, I would say. And we all love a good love triangle eventually where it's like, who is she gonna pick? And so Cole, before I let you go, is there anything else that you would like to say to future fans out there or just fellow book lovers? To anyone, all I need is one chapter. Read one chapter from me. I believe I have you hooked. And my ultimate goal is to highlight incarcerated black men and women for real, because I think there's so much great talent behind the fence, and I want to spotlight that. So if anybody has a loved one or anything that is incarcerated and wants to get their books out, feel free to hit me up, cole, at authorcole.com. Awesome, well, Cole, thank you so much for what you're doing in this literary world and keeping us entertained and for sharing your message and the resilience that you have, and for taking the time to come and chat with me and fellow book lovers, we greatly appreciate it. I appreciate you, thank you.